


Itch

by FrankieQuinn13



Category: Madagascar (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Biting, M/M, Marking, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:28:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28678914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrankieQuinn13/pseuds/FrankieQuinn13
Summary: Marty’s seen vampires before. He’s been around vampires before. Alex being just one. But he’s never been around a vampire like Vitaly and he’s never wanted someone more before in his life
Relationships: Alex/Gia (Madagascar), Alex/Marty (Madagascar), Marty/Vitaly
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	Itch

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: OK so, I ship Alex/Marty. But I really liked Alex/Gia in Madagascar 3. And then when it comes to Marty and Stefano I feel like they’re just bros. So I was like, who’s available? Since Vitaly was the one out of the circus animals to break Marty out of his cage, I was like “fuck it” and this happened.
> 
> Apologies spelling, grammar and OOCness
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Madagascar or any of its characters

He's seen vampires feed before. Hell he's even let Alex feed on him a couple of times.

He knows its violent and bloody and just a little bit gross, he's felt that shiver of fear run down his spine turning his blood cold. Fierce dark eyes that glanced up and locked onto him in the midst of that bloody display.

But somehow, watching Vitaly feed was different.

His first time was with Alex.

Marty ran away from the foster home where they all lived. Alex, Gloria and Melman followed to try to get him back home. Unfortunately, they ran into some trouble and ended up being sent to juvy, because the police confused them with another group of kids that held up a convenience store run by some old lady.

The bus to the juvenile facility crashed in the middle of nowhere and they ended up bunking out in the middle of the woods where they found a small town. The people there were strange and they had a problem with some gang that kept showing up once every few days and terrorised them. A gang that seemed to instantly vanish the moment their leader caught sight of Alex when they were hiding in the mayor’s home during an attack, for no apparent reason. It was all very strange, but they couldn’t find a way home.

The people that lived in the village seemed to exist in their own planet, completely isolated from the outside world. It was honestly a little creepy but the people there were also nice and agreed to let them stay there until they managed to find a way home. It was a rough adjustment but somehow, they managed and soon enough they started having fun. Although, Alex seemed to be having a hard time adjusting. He wasn’t getting any of those special protein shakes they used to give him at the foster home and the blonde wasn’t dealing too well with that. Alex started changing.

He was hyper and jumpy. He barely paid attention to his appearance and had this oddly unhinged look about him, but he was also somehow happier than he was before, if that makes any kind of sense. Gloria and Melman were a bit concerned but for the most part they were more preoccupied by the village people and didn’t pay attention to much else. Marty wasn’t as preoccupied.

He noticed Alex change and he was concerned. The village chief, King Julian, kept insisting that everything was fine and that Marty didn’t need to worry even though his assistant Maurice didn’t look convinced. Marty wasn’t really either but, Alex seemed happy despite his odd changes. Somehow, he seemed more free and open and Marty couldn’t honestly say that he didn’t like the new Alex who was embracing life and so willing to experience new things. So he just kept his mouth shut and tried to be happy for his friend.

He already felt guilty about stranding them out in the middle of nowhere. It was his mistake, his stupid stupid mistake. If Alex is happy then Marty wasn’t going to ruin it for him.

But then it happened.

The villagers were having another party in the town square, Gloria and Melman were hanging out by the pond, Marty and Alex were dancing. Marty made a joke, playfully slugging Alex’s arm. Alex laughed and teased him back with a slug of his own. They started rough housing the way they used to before they left the foster home, Marty darted away through the crowd towards the bar on the other side of the town square and Alex went after him.

It was fine, they were happy.

It was just like old times.

And then suddenly Marty wasn’t running anymore.

He was forced to stand still, there was one strong arm around his waist while a hand was tangled in his hair gripping tightly in the black and white curls to pull his head back to expose his neck. It was Alex, Alex is the one that held him, keeping him still. Alex’s head was buried in the side of his neck and that’s when he felt the pain.

“AHHH!”

Alex suddenly pulled back and stared at his best friend with wide eyes, blood dripping from his lips and chin. It was silent around them. Gloria screamed, Alex let go and Marty shoved him away.

“Al-Alex, what the hell?!” The teen said placing a hand on his throat and pressing down hard to keep on the pressure and slow the flow of blood.

“Marty I-”

“Julian, God damnit! I told you this would happen.” Maurice screamed as he and the self-professed king ran closer. Maurice moved to tend to Marty’s injuries, taking a look at the bite while Julian tried and failed to get the situation under control.

“People please, calm down everything is O.K.”

“Calm down?!” Marty screeched, “Alex why did you bite me?”

“I-...” Alex trailed off looking frazzled as he stared back at his friend.

“Biting? Oh no, no, he wasn’t biting you. And even if he was, what’s a little nibble between friends.” Julian said with forced laugh trying to alleviate the tension but Maurice only glared as Gloria and Melman ran closer.

“Julian, enough. This isn’t going to work you need to tell them the truth.”

“Oh my god Marty what happened?” Gloria asked as she came closer while Melman stopped to frown in hopeless confusion.

“What do you mean tell us the truth, tell us the truth about what?”

“About Alex, about why he bit you.” Maurice growled, Marty looked up at his best friend who was staring at the blood on his hands.

“Alex...” Marty stepped closer to his best friend, Alex’s head snapped up and Marty gasped at the pitch-black eyes that stared back at him. But he still moved forward. “Alex what-”

“Don't. He isn't safe.” Maurice warned as he placed a hand on Marty's shoulder. Marty shrugged him off-

“He's my best friend, he wouldn't hurt me.”

“He's a vampire and he just bit you!”

An even more pronounced silence fell over them.

“What?” Marty's eyes went wide, “That's impossible... Alex?”

The blonde was breathing hard staring at the other teen.

“Alex tell them it isn’t true.”

Alex was still breathing hard, his hands clenched tightly. A hiss erupted from the blonde’s throat and he suddenly leaped forward. Marty fell back, Gloria and Melman both grabbed him to pull him out of the way, but Alex was so much faster than he was before. He got Marty flat on his back on the side of the street.

Gloria screamed again so did Melman but, it’s Marty’s scream of Alex’s name that forced the teen to respond and he paused crouched right over Marty’s form.

Marty’s eyes were wide and terrified, shaking with fear. Alex paused to look around him and the terrified faces that stared back at him and he pulled away.

“Alex...” Marty started only for the blonde to pull away completely and vanish in a blur.

Marty stared at the space where his best friend was with wide eyes when Gloria and Melman crouched down beside him. Maurice only sighed when Julian spoke.

“Well we are in trouble.”

Maurice explained everything. Why the villagers were so awkward around Alex at first, why the creeps from that gang was so scared of Alex after just seeing him and why the villagers were so suddenly so happy to have him around after.

Alex was a vampire, a very powerful vampire and those special shakes he got at the foster home were probably bottles filled with human blood. When they arrived at the village the villagers all immediately knew that the blonde was a vampire since they’d been exposed to vampires so many other times before. The so called gang that repeatedly attacked the village was actually a coven of vampires that attacked every few days to feed off of the villages inhabitants.

When Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman arrived the villagers were terrified at the prospect of a new vampire showing up, but then the Foosa coven attacked and then scattered the moment they caught sight of Alex and the blonde let out an earth shattering growl. King Julian saw what happened and had an idea.

They’d keep the strangers happy, make sure that Alex was happy and satisfied in their village, the strangers would stay and as a result the Foosa would stay away. The fact that Alex himself was a vampire didn’t concern them since they assumed that... Well when they saw Alex and Marty and saw how close they were, they assumed that Marty was Alex’s familiar and that the blonde kept him around in order to feed. After a few days however, they realised that that wasn’t the case.

As far as they could tell, the blonde wasn’t even aware of the fact that he was a vampire. Despite all of this, Julian was still convinced that he could make it work.

It didn’t.

Alex ran away, deep into the woods and up into the mountains outside of the village. The Foosa got wind of his departure and Maurice made it clear that an attack was imminent.

And then they got a lucky break. The Penguin brothers, the same brothers that followed them out of the foster home, ended up finding them in the village with a stolen bus and a GPS system. They agreed to help them get back to the foster home before the Foosa could attack and stop them. But Marty wouldn’t leave without Alex, despite the fact that his best friend essentially tried to eat him.

He ignored Gloria and Melman’s protests and ran into the forest until he reached the mountain side where Alex was hiding. It’s one of the scariest things that he’s ever seen in his life.

The place where Alex lived was a cave with no grass or trees or any kind of green growing anywhere close to the cave opening. The clouds were heavy overhead and the entire area outside of the cave was protected by some strange wooden spikes aimed towards the entrance of the cave rather than out, making it clear that Alex wasn’t trying to keep people out, he was trying to keep himself in. He was trying to protect everyone from him.

“Alex!” Marty called out as he looked through the makeshift spiked fence surrounding the cave. Marty wasn't even sure how he knew that Alex was there, he just did.

“Alex! Alex!”

“You shouldn't be here.” Came soft voice echoing from the inside of the cave, “It isn't safe.”

“Yeah, that's exactly why I came to get you.” Marty called back after letting out a deep sigh after hearing his best friends voice. Something inside of him just went lax when he heard Alex's voice and the bite on his neck started to itch just a little, but he ignored that feeling. “The Penguin brothers came back for us. They even brought the bus and everything. We can go home.”

“I’m not going with you.” Alex said after a moment of silence and Marty frowned as he tried to edge through the barricade but he didn’t get very far.

“Well, I’m not leaving without you.”

“Marty-”

“Look if this is about the thing during the feast-”

“Yes its about the thing at the feast. Marty, I’m a monster. I almost killed you.”

“What this little thing?” Marty joked with a short laugh, “This is nothing. It’s barely even a scratch.”

Alex didn’t reply and Marty took a deep breath as he pushed on and forced his way through the wall of spikes to get to the other side, only to hiss when one of the spikes nicked his arm and caused him to bleed.

“Shit!” The teen hissed as he looked down at the cut only to gasp when a loud hiss tore through the air and he was knocked onto his back with a painful thump.

“Ow...” Marty whined when he felt something grasp his arms tight while a heavy weight had settled on top of him. He looked up to find Alex on top of him, panting hard with pitch black eyes, fangs gleaming in his mouth. His hair looked even worse than it was before, dirty and clumped up while his fingernails dug into the other teen’s arms. Feral is the word that came to mind as Marty swallowed hard and felt himself flush. The bite on his shoulder burned but he kept still.

“Alex.” Marty whispered and just like that, Alex’s eyes cleared, going back to their usual blue and he quickly pulled away, slowly slinking backwards into the cave.

“Marty just go, I don’t want to hurt you.”

Marty watched as his friend disappeared back into the cave and he felt that bite continue to burn, the cut on his arm now completely forgotten. The teen got up and walked over to the cave, carefully taking one step after the other as he spoke.

“You know, when we got here, the reason Julian thought he could make us stay, the reason he thought you were safe was because of me. They thought you were keeping me as your familiar.” Alex didn’t respond so Marty kept pushing. “Maurice said that vampires use familiars to feed off of and help them stay fed without needing to kill.” Marty took a deep breath when he reached the cave and put a hand on the side of the entrance. “And... And I was thinking that... As long as I got to have back my best friend then, it wouldn’t be so bad.”

“What?” Alex asked and Marty stepped into the darkness.

“Maurice said that it shouldn’t be too hard once you get used to it. I’ll let you feed off of me once a week, we’ll just have to control how much you take-”

“Marty, no-”

“It’s my fault you’re like this. If I didn’t leave the foster house, you guys wouldn’t have followed and none of this would have happened. Alex, I’m sorry and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I couldn’t help you out of this. So just, let me help you.”

The deeper he went into the cave the darker it became, but his vision adjusted bit by bit and he could see Alex’s form huddled up against the wall. Marty reached out and put a hand on Alex’s shoulder, the blonde tensed.

“Alex, I’m not leaving here without you. So its either you bite me so we can get this over with, or you’re going to need to make me a bed because I am not sleeping on this hardass floor.”

Alex chuckled softly and Marty couldn't help but smile.

“I don't want to hurt you.” Alex whispered and Marty went down on his knees beside his friend as he unbuttoned the two top buttons on his shirt and exposed his bite.

“I trust you.”

Alex slowly turned to face him and Marty could have sworn he saw the vampire’s eyes flash briefly in the darkness. The bite started burning a little more so he took a deep breath, tilting his head to the side when Alex moved closer and put his hands on the shorter teen’s waist.

Marty shut his eyes tight as he felt Alex's breath against his skin when the sting of teeth breaking through his skin sang right through him. Marty tried not to scream but he couldn’t help but gasp as the vampire pulled him closer right into his lap and up against his chest. He let his hands rest on Alex’s shoulders, gripping tight in response to the grip Alex had on his waist, until the blonde suddenly pulled away and let out an earth-shattering roar. Marty’s eyes went wide, wondering if he’d done anything wrong when he looked back and found at least six figures standing in the entrance of the cave, all hissing and purring as they watched the scene inside.

The Foosa.

Alex pulled Marty tight against his chest and Marty’s eyes went wide with fear.

“Go away!” Alex growled and some of the vampires in the entrance the more feral looking ones shrank away while others scurried to the side, only the one in the front stood his ground giving a sly grin as he held his arms out.

“Peace friend.” The man said smoothly, there was an odd hiss to his voice that echoed quietly as he spoke, “We only wanted to share in the spoils of your hunt. I’m sure there’s enough to go around.” the others behind him started purring in response and Marty tightened his grip on Alex as he tried to press closer to his best friend.

Alex growled again, “My prey! My KILL!”

The vampire at the front hissed as he went down to a crouch but backed away as Alex approached the entrance of the cave still holding Marty tightly in his grasp.

“My kill...” Alex continued to hiss and his voice sounded so different that Marty worried that Alex might actually mean what he was saying only for his friend to look down at him and wink. Once they made it out of the cave he let out a quiet sigh of relief when Alex suddenly moved and they were moving at an incredible speed right through the forest. Marty held on for dear life until Alex stopped.

“Alex! Marty! Are you two O.K?!” Gloria screamed as she and Melman came closer before they were ushered into one of the houses near the city square. Melman took care of Marty’s bite while Gloria gave Alex a piece of her mind for leaving them the way he did while the Penguin brothers kept themselves occupied with the Foosa outside. Marty never knew the four teens could kick as much ass as they did, but they were all military brats so that probably counted in their favour.

Alex was critical in their plan to scare the Foosa away for good and the blonde achieved this by staking their leader right in front of the others causing him to explode in an ashy display. He warned them to leave and never return since he’d marked the village as his territory.

They never did.

After the fight the bus broke down just before they could leave the village and they were stranded all over again. The Penguins figured out a way to fix it and as a way to make it up to them they helped Alex find an alternative to feeding on human blood by suggesting that he feed on animals instead. It worked out great since Alex was relieved that he wouldn't have to treat his best friend like a walking blood bag. Plus he'd been feeling a little... Possessive around Marty as of late and knew that the feeding probably had something to do with it.

Marty was happy, for the most part.

He was happy that Alex had made some semblance of peace with the fact that he was technically supposed to be a murderer. He didn't mind that Alex didn't really need him to feed anymore, honest.

Eventually the bus was fixed they left the village to head back to New York. Julian and Maurice decided to go with them, only for the bus to break down all over again.

This time they broke down just outside of an actual vampire colony, or at least the entrance to one. It was a gated community a couple of miles outside of the nearest town. A group of vampires captured them and took them to their leaders, that's when they met Alex's parents.

They called him Alekay, he was Zuba the coven leaders heir.

When Alex was young, he was captured by a group of vampire hunters, but something went wrong. The car that they were in crashed and Alex ended up falling into a river. He washed up on shore the next morning, child protective services found him and he was taken to the shelter.

They decided to live in the colony for a while, while the Penguin brothers fixed the bus again.

Marty and Alex started growing apart. Alex because he was spending more time with his birth parents, trying to learn more about what he is and who he was supposed to be. Marty because…

When they arrived at the colony, Marty found out about the familiars that the vampires in the colony kept. He’d see the bite marks on the human’s necks, he’d see how happy and well-adjusted they all seemed to be. And then he finally saw one of the vampires feed off of her personal familiar. He watched the vampire pull the human’s head aside and press him against the nearest wall, he saw the human gasp and watched as his eyes rolled into the back of his head when his vampire sunk her fangs into his neck and started feeding. He saw the whole thing and the fading bite mark on his shoulder suddenly felt like it was itching and Marty just wanted it so bad.

Marty wanted it all. The fear and anxiety, the adrenaline, the pain and that blissed haze he’d fall into every time Alex bit him. But Alex was happy. Alex was adjusting to his animal blood diet. Marty couldn’t help but feel a bit bitter at that. He got frustrated and angry and then he and Alex got into a fight. Marty went and spent his time with the familiars, wishing that he could have what they had whilst feeling guilty about his selfish feelings.

They made up eventually, after a group of vampire hunters attacked the village and they were forced to defend themselves, but things between him and Alex would never really be the same. Alex was happy and Marty wanted more than he knew the blonde was willing to give him.

And then came Vitaly.

They met the circus performers when they were still trying to find their way back to New York and then they just never left. Gloria and Melmen seemed to truly find themselves after they started doing their couples act. Alex became completely smitten with Gia and Marty found a friend in Stefano.

It was all going great until now that is.

They figured it out pretty quickly that Gia and Vitaly were vampires, but that didn’t really seem to matter. Even though the Russian performers fed on humans and not animals. It wasn’t too difficult to get used to. Gia and Vitaly would disappear every now and then in the middle of the night and then the next morning they’d read about an animal attack in the papers. They learned to ignored it. Things only became more difficult when a vampire hunter that had been chasing after Alex since they left the colony started catching up to them. They needed to keep a low profile, not attract as much attention so they’d let more time pass between feedings. Gia and Vitaly would get a bit cranky but it wasn’t too difficult to deal with.

Eventually, after they managed to ditch the hunter once and for all, Gia gave in and let Alex help her learn to feed from animals, Vitaly was stubborn and insisted that he could handle it. A whole month went by with Vitaly not having disappeared once. He was getting angrier and more aggressive with every day that went by.

It was late when he and Stefano were out to get some supplies in town. Marty was having fun, it felt good being away from the circus for a while, if only to be away from Alex for a while. They were on the way back when Marty suddenly noticed something odd.

He saw a pair of shadows, in an ally behind the supermarket. He thought he saw Vitaly slip around the corner, those distinctive ginger, black and silver locks eliminating any possibility of it being anyone else. He told Stefano that he’d catch up and went to go look.

It seemed like such an innocent idea at the time. He just wanted to know where Vitaly was going. It had been such a long time since the vampire had gone hunting that Marty had almost forgotten that the older man was a vampire. Which is why he didn’t immediately put two and two together to realise that Vitaly was probably slinking around dark alleys on his own to feed. It wasn’t until he turned the corner and froze at what he saw.

And then he ran.

When he got back to the camp he didn’t tell anyone about what he saw. Stefano noticed that he seemed tense and asked him what was wrong. Marty can’t even remember what excuse he came up with to put his friend at ease. Alex was next to ask him what was wrong, seeming to sense his best friend’s distress. Marty just told him that he was tired and wanted some time alone to rest, Alex reluctantly let him be. Vitaly came back to their camp about an hour later, Marty made sure to immediately make himself scarce.

He spent the rest of the night on his hammock staring up at the ceiling of the train car until the circus got quiet and he eventually went out and went to sit on the roof instead, staring up at the stars in deep thought.

It was just so…

He’s seen vampires feed before, but seeing Vitaly feed was so… It was so-

“Having trouble sleeping my friend?”

Marty tensed before slowly turning his head to look up and found Vitaly standing just behind him, those emerald green eyes watching him closely.

“Something like that. I-” Marty swallowed hard, “I… I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Earlier, I shouldn’t have followed you into the… I just-“

“I should be the one apologising… for frightening you. I assume that that is the reason why you can’t sleep.” He asked and Marty blinked.

“I- No!”

“No?”

Marty forced a scoff as he looked way, “C’mon man, it’s not like I’ve never seen a vampire feed before. Gloria told you about the stuff with Alex right?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah and I mean, we lived in a colony for a while with Alex’s parents too. There were vampires with human familiars everywhere. There’s no reason why seeing a vampire feed would bother me.”

Vitaly nodded stiffly, folding his arms behind his back only for his head to fall to the side in a slight tilt as he spoke.

“But it does.”

“What-“

“It bothers you.”

Marty’s head snapped back and his eyes widened just a bit to look at the vampire.

“No.”

When Vitaly moved it made Marty jump, but he stayed seated as the vampire walked over and sat down beside him, letting his legs hang off of the side of the train as he looked out over the circus equipment scattered around the camp. It was quiet between them for a moment, Marty felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest with how fast it was beating. He raked a hand through his hair and took in a silent breath-

“Gloria said that Alex used to feed off of you, before he changed his diet. One could say you were his familiar.”

Marty tensed, “I guess.”

“But not anymore.”

“Yeah, so?”

“In the old days, when a vampire no longer had any use for its familiar, he would either kill it or turn it, depending on details of their arrangement.” Vitaly explained and Marty frowned at him as the vampire continued, “You see my friend, when you spend so much time sharing blood with another being, it tends to complicate things. So usually a vampire would eventually kill his familiar to prevent things from getting… complicated.”

“Are you saying Alex should’ve killed me?”

“No, not at all. You’re a dear friend Marty. Alex clearly adores you and I am grateful to have known you. You are kind to Stefano and I know that he adores you too.” Vitaly then looked at the human, emerald eyes locking him in place, “It’s just a pity that things have become… complicated for you.”

Marty quickly looked away, “I don’t know what you’re talking about-“

“Does it still burn? The mark that Alex gave you. Does it burn when you touch it? Send fire rushing through your veins at the sight of blood.”

“I-“

“It does, does it not. It makes you wish for things… things you think you shouldn’t want.”

“And how would you know that?”

“I’ve seen it before.” Vitaly said with a wry smile, “It’s almost cruel that Alex has left you as you are but, the feeling will go away in time. All you have to do is wait.”

Marty looked at the vampire, “Have you ever had a familiar?”

“Once, some time ago.”

“Did you… you know?”

“No, she found another vampire to turn her.”

“Why didn’t you turn her?”

Vitaly looked at the human, “I promised myself many years ago that if I were to ever turn someone it would be once and it only be my mate. I already broke that promise once.”

Marty paused in thought, “Gia?”

“She was injured and the humans of the circus back then… Stefano begged me to save her. I could not refuse my friend.” Vitaly shook his head, “Still, I would not curse this life onto anyone, not unless I had no choice.”

“Doesn’t seem that bad to me.” Marty mumbled out and Vitaly shrugged.

“When you are standing on the outside, nothing ever does.” The Russian acrobat then let out a soft sigh as he put his hand on the human’s shoulder.

“It will get better. Patience my friend. After some time, all will be well.”

Marty’s hands clenched on his lap, “What if-what if I don’t want it to get better?”

Vitaly looked up at the human in a pause, “You want to be a vampire?”

“No.”

“No?”

Marty took Vitaly’s hand causing the vampire to tense up and moved it higher up onto his shoulder to the curve that led up to his neck, right over the place where Alex used to bite him.

“What if I don’t want it to get better?”

Marty said softly and Vitaly stared at him, green eyes widening ever so slightly.

He didn’t want it to get better. He wanted to have that feeling again. The pain, the relief, the warmth that spread down to his very core when Alex fed off of him. When Marty saw Vitaly that afternoon it suddenly made all of those feelings rush back to him in a surge, only with Vitaly… He felt an intensity that he’d never felt before. A darkness taking hold of him and keeping him rooted in place almost stopping him from running away. His shoulder itched and his mouth went dry and he just wanted so much.

The idea of all of that stopping of never feeling even an inkling of those feelings again scared him half to death.

Vitaly huffed out a sigh, “You cannot be a familiar forever. Alex feeds on animals now-”

“But you don’t.”

Vitaly tensed at the humans words even more so since Marty looked right at him when he said them. Large dark eyes almost glowing in the moonlight.

“It would make things easier right? You wouldn’t have to go hunting anymore.”

Vitaly said nothing and Marty took in a deep breath, thinking back about Alex’s apprehension to feeding on him at first.

“You won’t be hurting me because I want you to do it and if it makes you feel better we won’t have to do it more than once a week or two weeks or a month…” He trailed off, Vitaly was still silent and Marty felt himself flush in horrible embarrassment as he finally seemed to catch up with his own words. It’s almost as bad as when he and Alex started fighting at the colony, all that frustration and guilt. Frustration because he wanted something he knew he couldn’t have and guilt because he knew how wrong and selfish it was to want those things.

“I-I’m sorry. Just forget about it.” He made to get up and head inside, curl under his blanket on his hammock and drown in his own emotions when the hand on his shoulder suddenly clamped down forcing him to stay still.

Marty winced hissing softly in pain only to pause when Vitaly spoke.

“I… I have difficulty controlling myself at times.” He said and Marty’s eyes flickered over to the vampire’s hand, still on his shoulder, still clenched painfully tight.

“It’s O.K. We’re friends, right?” Marty said softly.

Emerald green snapped up to lock onto deep brown and his lips tugged down ever so slightly.

“That might not be enough.” Vitaly’s voice was a quiet whisper and Marty flushed from a whole new set of emotions. He swallowed hard and steeled his nerves together to do the one thing he never had the courage to do with Alex.

“I trust you.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss against the vampire’s lips. It was a soft brief press of skin against skin. In the back of his mind Marty half expected Vitaly to push him away and reject him. So much so that the human’s breath hitched and his eyes went wide when gravity shifted and Vitaly kissed him back hard, pushing the human back against the roof of the train car as he worked his mouth open.

Vitaly tasted like blood, it occurred to Marty that the blood probably came from the human the vampire killed in the alley that afternoon. But rather than repulse him, Marty moaned into the kiss, wrapping his arms around the vampire’s neck to pull himself as close as possible only to gasp when Vitaly suddenly broke the kiss and grabbed a handful of Marty’s hair to pull the human’s head back.

Marty’s hands clenched on Vitaly’s broad shoulders, fingers twisting into the crisp white shirt. The vampire dragged his nose all along the human’s neck taking in a deep audible breath before he leaned in to whisper against Marty’s ear.

“Prekrasnyy.”

“What-“

Marty’s mouth fell open in a silent scream when he felt his skin break as Vitaly bit him. Sharp searing pain surged through him like a bolt of electricity and his back arched up off the train.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Hey, hey! Watch it guys!”

Alex said just as Frankie and Jonesy went rushing by him in their skates.

“Sorry ‘bout that boss, Frank’s got two left feet.”

“Oh piss off you’re the one that’s always falling off the ramp!”

Alex couldn’t help but laugh as the brothers kept arguing as they rode away.

Its morning so that means time for rehearsals. Everyone was out practicing their acts for the new tour since their contract with the American producer got renewed. Alex was doing his rounds, checking to see if anyone needed any help before going to practice his act with Gia. He had a little time. Gia was still trying to get the hang of feeding off of animals so he knew she’d be a little while longer still.

In the meantime, he can check on the Elephant brother’s aerial silk act and the Equestrian sisters trampoline act. Gloria said she wanted Alex to come and check out her and Melman’s tight rope act, just to make sure it was safe enough. He needs to check in on Julian and Sonya, just to make sure those two are actually practicing. Check on Vitaly who’s seemingly been occupied with his ring act. But first, Marty.

Marty and Stefano have been going on and on about their newest cannon ball routine and Alex has been meaning to check in on them but he hasn’t had the time. What with helping the chimps run the circus, getting Gia settled on the “vegetarian diet” and checking in on everyone else, it seemed like Marty’s just kind of slipped through the cracks. Well, that and the fact that Alex can admit that he’s been sort of avoiding his friend for a while but… it was for the best. Before Alex stopped feeding on Marty he’d been feeling a little… protective over his friend and-

Well now that he doesn’t have to feed on Marty anymore things can finally get back to normal. They just need some space so they _can_ get back to normal that’s all. Still, it’s been a while since he’s checked in with Marty so-

Alex let out a grunt as he was suddenly bumped into.

“C’mon guys I thought I just told you-“ the blonde cut himself off when he found his best friend behind him instead of one of the Pup brothers. That’s… weird. He should’ve been able to smell Marty coming.

“Whoops, sorry Alex.” Marty said with a bright smile as he rushed by carrying a bundle of ropes in his arms.

“Hey! Marty wait up! I was just on my way to see you.”

Marty paused with a frown, “About what?”

“What do you mean about what?” Alex said as he walked up to his friend, “Your routine, Stefano kept going on and on about how it’s so amazing it’d beat _Trapeze_ _Americano_.”

“Oh yeah.” Marty’s grin returned, “We’ve been working on it all week. C’mon, we moved the cannons a little further out yesterday just to make sure we didn’t hit anyone while we were practicing.”

“OK.” Alex smiled in return, it almost felt just like old times, “Good to know you haven’t just been goofing off.”

“Who needs goofing off when you can fly all day?” Marty said practically beaming as he held his arms out at his sides with the ropes hanging off his shoulders.

“Yeah? Well maybe I could give it a try.”

“I’m sorry my friend but that’s a no can do.” Marty said with a scoff.

“Why not?”

“We’re the Cannon Ball Duo, not the Canon Ball Trio. C’mon Alex I’ve already got the merchandise designs ready and everything.” Marty explained, “Besides, your hair would just get in the way.”

“Hey, my hair is very aerodynamic. See this,” Alex said flicking his head back and forth causing his blonde locks to sway, “Dancing in the breeze.”

Marty laughed, reaching over to pat Alex on the back. “Whatever you say Al’.”

Alex smiled in return only to frown when he realised that Marty smelled different. His scent had changed. The vampire’s nose wrinkled as he tried to place the scent when-

“Hey, Guys!”

Alex looked up to realise that they’d already made it out past the other circus performers to the spot where Marty and Stefano were practicing their routine. Stefano gave a wide grin as he waved from his perch on top of one of the cannons and Vitaly-

Alex’s lips pulled down into a frown, “What’s Vitaly doing out here?”

“Oh, he’s been helping us out with our act whenever he has time, no big deal.” Marty explained with a shrug before rushing over to them. “I got the extra rope!”

Alex followed, a frown still tugging at his lips only for it to grow when Marty practically jumped on the Russian acrobat and Vitaly scoffed as he spun around with the human in his arms before he set him down. Stefano hopped off the cannon to take the ropes from Marty and they started talking animatedly about their act. It was just then that Alex noticed how the ropes had dragged Marty’s shirt off his shoulder and exposed a fresh bite mark on his skin.

Alex blinked and stopped right in his tracks, his mouth falling open in a slight gape just as Vitaly reached out to tug Marty’s shirt back over the mark. The human flushed ever so slightly and Vitaly gave him a knowing smile.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: 
> 
> PS: for those wondering, I'll be posting on my other stories as soon as I can. I know about slacking in that respect. Sorry about all that
> 
> Please review


End file.
